Evil spirits in Sambuca di Sicilia
The legend tells of evil spirits who roamed the streets of the ancient Arab quarter of Sambuca di Sicilia.
The village of Sambuca has an ancient history, it was founded by the Arabs with the ancient name of Zabuth. In the ancient Arab quarter, below the houses, there are still numerous and deep tuff quarries, from which material was extracted for the construction of the houses.
An ancient legend tells that a bloody massacre took place precisely in Sambuca by the soldiers commanded by Frederick II against the inhabitants and that the few survivors ended their days dying of hardship inside the tuff quarries that were used as prisons. Legend has it that since then, heartbreaking cries and screams were heard around the castle of Zabuth and disturbing silhouettes were seen wandering in the dark and disappearing in the tunnels.
During the sixteenth century, these events disturbed the population of Sambuca so much, that the Jesuit fathers decided to paint on the wall of an aedicule the image of the Madonna della Scala, a place where the inhabitants gathered to pray and drive away the spirits.
